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Responsible Event Management
Standard BNQ 9700-253 Sustainable Development – Responsible Event Management
NOTICE This draft document BNQ 9700-253 Sustainable Development — Responsible Event Management is currently undergoing public review. Click here for more information.
Events often have a negative impact on the environment: excessive use of paper, major production of greenhouse gas emissions, and so on. For that reason, today’s event planners are interested in responsible management, which also happens to give a significant boost to the image and promotion of an event. With this in mind, BNQ 9700-253 defines responsible event management and establishes technical rules based on the 16 principles of the Sustainable Development Act of Québec. It enables planners, service providers, participants and users to shrink the natural and human environmental footprint of events and enhance their economic and social spinoffs. This initiative by the Réseau des femmes en environnement and the Conseil québécois des évènements écoresponsables (CQEER) is a nationally and internationally recognized benchmark available to guide planners in making a range of environmentally responsible choices, from supplier selection to waste management.
Download standard
12684
ANG
BNQ 9700-253
Sustainable Development - Responsible Event Management
REVISION IN PROGRESS (expected date for the new edition: June 2024)
Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP)
Mr. David-Jocelyn Lucion
Association des professionnels en exposition du Québec (APEQ)
Ms. Gwénola Maguelonne
Association francophone pour le savoir (Acfas)
Mr. Pablo Maneyrol
TOHU
Ms. Elsa Moawad
Groupe AGÉCO
Ms. Catherine Noppen
Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ)
Ms. Joannie Roy
Hydro-Québec
Mr. Martin Roy
Regroupement des événements majeurs internationaux (RÉMI)
Ms. Sophie Simoneau
Loto-Québec
Mr. Vincent Testard
L’Équipe Spectra (Groupe CH)
Mr. Louis-Philippe Thibault
Ministère du Tourisme
Ms. Sylvie Théberge
Événements Attractions Québec (EAQ)
Ms. Sophie Valence-Doucet
Festivals et Événements verts de l’Estrie (FEVE)
Certification Offer
By certifying their events, planners can claim to promote sustainable development and project a positive public image. The BNQ certification program enables event planners to: Have third parties recognize their responsible event management and compliance with the practices set out in BNQ 9700-253; Prove the firmness of their commitment to sustainable development; Produce events that meet requirements but also uphold the principles of sustainable development. To start with, the program includes general requirements such as: the planner’s management system and commitment, evaluation and documentation, a responsible management contract, event-related documents and classification-level compliance. However, it also includes 56 special requirements covering five different fields: supplier selection, equipment, power and water management, waste management, food selection and transportation choices. It enables organizers to determine their event’s classification level of a possible 5 levels, the fifth being the most environmentally responsible.
This certification program is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada.
Download documents required for certification (French only)
12670
FRN
BNQ 9700-953
Développement durable - Gestion responsable d'évènements - Protocole de certification
Joël Rabesa, agr., PMP Program Leader Bureau de normalisation du Québec Cell.: 418-456-8378
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By certifying their events, planners can claim to promote sustainable development and project a positive public image. The BNQ certification program enables event planners to: Have third parties recognize their responsible event management and compliance with the practices set out in BNQ 9700-253; Prove the firmness of their commitment to sustainable development; Produce events that meet requirements but also uphold the principles of sustainable development. To start with, the program includes general requirements such as: the planner’s management system and commitment, evaluation and documentation, a responsible management contract, event-related documents and classification-level compliance. However, it also includes 56 special requirements covering five different fields: supplier selection, equipment, power and water management, waste management, food selection and transportation choices. It enables organizers to determine their event’s classification level of a possible 5 levels, the fifth being the most environmentally responsible.
